Chapter 4

Emma’s POV

One month later

"Emma, wait!" My landlord Tara's sharp voice pierces my ears, which makes me cringe.

My eyes scan my surroundings nervously, hoping she doesn't notice me. The rent is one month late. Holding my bag to cover my face, I try to hide behind a big vase, but I fail when she hisses with so much anger that I wince at her intensity.

"Emma!" She reaches me in an instant, I nervously grip my sweater tightly while her eyes keep shooting daggers.

"I need your rent, you promised me to give it last night." Her breathing is hard and she looks ready to kick my butt.

She has dark eyes and short shoulder-length dark hair that frames her face nicely, and the high neck short black dress shows off her long legs. She is a real beauty, but no one dares have the nerve not to give her rent.

"Hi, it's nice to see you, Tara." I greet her, pretending as though I hadn't tried to escape from her earlier. My attic room's rent is 1000 dollars per month, but I cost a lot on buying a bed, chairs and books.

"I will receive my salary today, I just need a little time." My stomach clenches tight as I explain to her.

I used to witness her slapping four men's faces and breaking all of their ribs just because they didn't give the rent money on time. They begged her for mercy and gave her all the money they had, and never return.

"Tonight, until midnight, 12 pm, understand?" She screams in my face and gives me a threatening look.

I have to admit that I live on a budget, Nevermore doesn’t provide student residence, and the rent money is extremely higher than in any other place. After paying my rent and furniture, I’m very poor.

"Okay, before midnight," I swallow hard and nod my head.

Tara is a nice landlord, she gave me the best deal to rent an attic room. Sure, this place is cold like ice, but it's cheap.

And working in a small coffee shop with no tips means a cold meals and going hungry. The boss doesn't provide me with a free meal and I have no place to cook food in my little attic room. So I have to buy the cheapest food to feed my hungry stomach.

"Emma, I gave you free water and electricity, and a cheap place. You owe me two thousand, two months rent money, last month and this month." Her jaw seems to tighten when she says that, a muscle there twitching slightly

“Okay. I will give it to you tonight.” I promise.

She spats before leaving.

Hell!

Tara's request is killing me, I might be penniless tomorrow, drinking free icy water and searching garbage to survive.

No one is caring about an anonymous girl. But I will worry about that later.

I’m on nights, and it’s half past five. I need to hurry up and get to the coffee shop in fifteen minutes, or I'll be late and the manager definitely would deduct my money.

I know a better route, it will save me a lot of time. So I run as fast as I can and just arrive with eight minutes to get there. On a different sort of day, I can tell you all the things that have happened to me on this route：

Where two love birds dated each other; where Tara taught her son how to ride a bike without stabilizers; where supermarket people threw away their not fresh vegetables, food, and fruits.

The coffee shop is small, but it’s the only coffee shop in Nevermore. The college only accepts forty students every year, and most of the students are rich, some of them are billionaires, and some are millionaires.

“That you, Emma?” The manager Roberta asks.

“Yup.” I hang my hoodie and sweater on the pet and give her a hug.

She reaches out a hand a feels my forehead as if her hand has an X-ray thing that can test everything since I work here.

“You must feel cold, want a cup of tea?”

I nod my head with a big smile.

She walks into the room, fires up the huge tea urn on the table, brings in the crates of mild and bread from the refrigerator, and chats with me because there is no guest there.

Roberta likes me, she’s warm-hearted by nature and says having me there keeps the place colorful. She offers me a nice salary, 1500 dollars every month.

Everything in this shit place is more expensive, and you’re good at chatting with customers. She explains to me.

And I like customers. Especially, I liked an old lady, who only drinks cappuccino from Monday to Tuesday and sit reading newspapers and drinking her way through one cup of coffee. I always chat with her, she’s always alone, I suspect it might be the only conversation she gets all day.

Even the annoying customers, like the yellow-haired man with tattoos who always shouts loudly at least once a week, don’t trouble me.

Roberta watches me chewing bread, she gently touches my hair and says, “Emma, your landlord Tara came this morning and told me your rent problem.”

I wipe my hand on the apron with my mouth hanging open. “I’m sorry, Roberta. It’s my issue, I’ll deal with it.”

Then she hands me the envelope, and says, “I know you’re a new one here, but I want to look after you. There’s three months’ money in there. And it means you have to stay here even at Christmas.”

“Thanks for that, Roberta!” I wipe my tears and take a big bite to eat all the food. Then fill a glass of water and drink it.

I need to work harder, I think to myself.

At this time, a cluster of chattering students enter, I smile and serve them some coffee, then prepare to clean other tables.

The door whips back noisily on its hinges and two stronger hunks enter, talking into earpieces while checking the windows and all the doors.

"Who are these people?" I ask my manager.

"I have no idea. Forty years of working in this small coffee shop, this is my first time to see such militaristic security detail."

"This lever security may tell us that some tremendously important is about to arrive. Maybe a president?" She laughs loudly.

But then a six-foot-three-inch height man walks strode in and we both stop our silly laughing, my happiness dies as I feel an actual brief pain in my chest.

As I see that gorgeous green eyes and long black hair so bright against his skin, my smile freezes, and my breath catches in my throat. Desperately I bite my lower lips as I stare at him.

I know his face, I know who he is.

He is Austin, Jordy’s younger brother, and one of my husbands.

My whole body trembles, I want to run and find a place to hide forever.

I shouldn't run away, at least, can't run, I remind myself doggedly, ignoring the craven desire to flee.

Then his eyes land on me, his gaze is assessing me now, as though he is looking deeper. Beneath my clothes, the thought of which makes me feel hot all over, down beneath my skin.

My body starts to burn everywhere his gaze makes contact.

Austin’s POV

"Hi, I'm Roberta, the manager of this coffee shop, it's my honor to serve you." The manager wears a smile on her face.

Taking a step back I frown. My gaze immediately lands on a slim girl and gets lost in her unique smell.

That smell.

That delicious smell of captures my senses, like walking in a rainbow paradise.

My heart starts to slam into my chest.

It is my first time smelling anything so delicious, and the feeling of it brings shivers to my body.

Her face turns around from the window to face me, I stand up and walk towards her, standing close enough to touch her skin.

She's so small, I can use one hand to lift her body up. She nervously lifts her head up but still can't see any part of me above chest level.

"What's your name?" I grab her arm and ask.

She clutches at her shirt tightly as though she is nervous and afraid of something or somebody.

She is the most stunning girl I ever have met in my life, never have I seen someone look at me with such purity.

"What's that got to do with you?" She clears her throat, reaching up and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear to avoid my eye contact.

I crave her scent, it swirls around me and makes me want to adore her.

"Answer me," I ground out impatiently as my hands grab her tighter.

"I don't owe you my answer... I don't serve you." She says with a kind of provocation that makes me feel she's unwelcome.

She glowers up at me, her creamy skin flushed by anger, blue eyes luminescent with rage because of me.

She is gorgeous, like an angel.

She smiles at me and I feel my nerve break down. Years of loneliness finally break down my defenses.

"Tell me!" I snap, I am losing my mind. Finally, the madness that I have held for so long had taken hold.

"I'm a billionaire, Mrs. Beauty. A man with a great deal of power, a limitless supply of resources - that, I should think, is obvious." I pause, looking at her.

"So, you will answer me," I rake back at her in a confident tone, watching as she steps back and tries to escape.

Strawberry blonde curls slide around her shoulders, her hair falling around her perfect face. Urgently, I want to kiss her rosy lips.

Allowing myself to imagine the hot, wet tightness of her and the pulse at my groin reacting with unbridled enthusiasm.

I remind myself that she is mine, no need to scare her.

Touching her cheek, I drop a kiss on her before whispering in her ear, “I intend to give you my world. Marriage, children, that is what I expect.”

I won’t talk about her to my brother Jordy, I think. After the car accident, we lost our mom, and our mate, Jordy becomes an extremely conservative idealist. There are a few things I am bound by.

The most important thing is - we will share one girl and will marry her as our mate.

But this time, I don't want to share this girl with Jordy.